Smart posts record-high mobile data traffic last year

MANILA, Philippines — PLDT wireless subsidiary Smart Communications Inc. saw mobile data traffic on its network skyrocket to a record-high of 1.6 exabytes or 1,612 petabytes in 2019.

Smart said last year’s mobile data traffic is double the 824 petabytes posted in 2018, and more than four times compared to 2017 levels.

Smart attributed the exponential growth in data traffic mainly from video streaming, social networking, and gaming.

It said mobile data usage also grew significantly on the back of Smart’s GIGA data service offers that address customers’ growing demand for various internet services.

“Our sustained network improvement efforts over the past several years have given us the crucial advantage—enabling us to offer compelling data service offers that address our customers’ passions and pain points. This has powered our current revenue growth and is positioning us well for the future,” Smart president and CEO and PLDT chief revenue officer Alfredo Panlilio said.

With soaring mobile data traffic, Smart said data revenues now make up 69 percent of total revenues of the consumer wireless group, which posted total revenues of P72.1 billion in 2019.

“Moving forward, we aim to further improve the experience of our customers by helping them to shift to LTE handsets and SIMs and by providing increasingly rich GIGA data offers that enable people to effectively address their various life needs all through the mobile phone in their hands,” said Jane Basas, senior vice president for consumer individual wireless business.

To support its customers’ growing data habit as well as the increasing number of LTE smartphone users among Smart, Sun and TNT customers, PLDT has continued to expand their fixed and mobile networks across the country.

PLDT increased its total fiber footprint by 32 percent to 322,400 kilometers, the country’s most extensive digital backbone and transport network.

Smart, for its part, expanded its coverage and capacity further by increasing the number of its 4G/LTE stations by 51 percent to about 24,600, as well as its 3G base stations by about 19 percent to 13,800.

As of end 2019, Smart’s mobile coverage has expanded to 94 percent of the country’s population.

“It used to be just talk and text. But with more and more people going online with their mobile phones, cellular operators are transforming themselves into mobile internet providers,” Smart said.